]]>Hide the kitchen knives. Apparently we haven’t seen the last of Norman Bates.

One of cinema’s most iconic characters returns — along with his mysterious mother — in “Bates Motel,” an A&E TV series inspired by Alfred Hitchcock’s landmark 1960 horror film, “Psycho.”

“Bates Motel,” set to premiere on March 18, is a prequel that dares to imagine the twisted relationship between a teen-aged Norman (Freddie Highmore) and his overprotective single mom, Norma (Vera Farmiga). But instead of going retro, executive producers Carlton Cuse (“Lost”) and Kerry Ehrin (“Friday Night Lights”) chose to set their dark drama in the present day.

“We did not want to do an homage to ‘Psycho,'” Cuse told journalists at the Television Critics Association press tour. “We just wanted to sort of take these characters and the setup as inspiration. … And it may surprise you what you actually learn about what the relationship is like between these two characters and what drives Norman Bates to be the guy that he becomes. We didn’t want to stick to what had been done.”

The opening episode, made available to critics, has Norma seeking a fresh start after the tragic death of her husband. She and Norman move to an idyllic coastal town, where she purchases an abandoned motel. The series will go on to explore how Norman evolves into the deranged killer seen in the 1960 film.

“Bates Motel” is the first project for Cuse since “Lost” ended, and though the series figures to be tense and suspenseful, he promises to eschew any traces of dense mythology.

“No polar bears, no smoke monsters, for sure, OK?” he said with a smile. “There’s no supernatural elements in play. We view this as a psychological thriller.”

As for the mama’s boy at the heart of the story, Highmore said the series will challenge viewers as they try to figure out exactly how Norman turned bad.

“We all know that he’ll go on to be psycho,” he said. “But is that necessarily because of his upbringing? Is it nature versus nurture? Or is it because they move to this dodgy town and there’s a sort of weird, intimate relationship between Norma and Norman? That challenges the audience to think, ‘Well, if I was in that situation, would I be slightly different?’ You know, we all go a little mad sometimes.”

The networks, you see, are feeling pretty good about themselves these days. (Well, if you don’t count NBC). New hit shows such as “Glee,” “Modern Family” and “The Good Wife” cleaned up recently when the Emmy nominations were announced, which prompted many to rave about a surge in prime-time quality and creative adventurousness.

But let’s not get too carried away. Yes, the networks gave us some see-worthy shows last season, proving that their programming model is not dead yet. But, as usual, there was plenty of junk, too — or have you blotted out all memory of the Kelsey Grammer sitcom “Hank”?

The press tour — a 12-day powwow crammed with panel interviews, studio set visits, preview screenings, and star-studded parties — is our chance to get a feel for where the medium is headed. There, in a swanky hotel formerly owned by Merv Griffin, we’ll begin to ascertain if last season’s network successes were a sign of more to come or just a blip on the screen.

In some ways, nothing has changed. For all the talk of creative risk-taking, broadcasters are still very much prone to play-it-safe regurgitation. That’s why we’ll see a remake of the 1970s drama “Hawaii
Five-0” (CBS), and a new take on the “La Femme Nikita” spy saga (The CW has shortened it to “Nikita”).

It’s also why we’ll see yet another version of “Law & Order” (NBC’s “Law & Order: Los Angeles”) and why our televisions will, once again, by invaded by an incessant swarm of cops and lawyers. That hardly sounds adventurous, does it?

On the other hand, there are indications that the networks are at least making a few attempts to color outside the lines. Fox, for example, has a new show called “Lonestar,” about a con man (James Wolk) who leads a double life with two wives. It sounds like the kind of edgy antihero premise we’d normally find on cable.

Meanwhile, NBC will offer a spy show called “Undercovers,” notable not only because it’s from vaunted producer J.J. Abrams (“Lost,” “Alias” and “Fringe”), but because it has two black leads in Boris Kodjoe and Gugu Mbatha-Raw, who play married CIA agents.

In other positive moves for TV diversity, the title character in “Nikita” will be played by Asian actress Maggie Q, and NBC features a sitcom called “Outsourced” with several Indian actors in the cast.

The latter takes a dramatic U-turn from his Emmy-winning role as a rogue cop in “The Shield” to play the leader of a suburban clan that possesses superpowers. That’s pretty original — if you overlook the fact that it sounds like a blend of “The Incredibles” and “Heroes.”

One show sure to attract plenty of initial buzz is NBC’s “The Event,” an intriguing sci-fi mystery about a high-level government conspiracy. The pilot episode was packed with pulse-pounding suspense and surprising twists, making it a potential successor to “Lost.” Then again, the networks have had difficulty sustaining such high-concept shows in recent years.

In a nod to the rise of social media, CBS will introduce the first show based on a Twitter feed. “$#*! My Dad Says” is a sitcom starring William Shatner as a cranky father who spews streams of politically incorrect observations. But judging from the lackluster pilot, we’ll stick with the tweets.

Speaking of Twitter, when the press tour launches next week, I’ll be posting regular updates on my feed at and right here on our A&E Interactive blog at Go there to find lots of fun facts, SoCal color and some inside-TV scoopage.

One more thing: If you’ve got questions you’re dying to ask of the TV execs and stars, please don’t hesitate to send them to me via e-mail at at cbarney@bayareanewsgroup.com. I’ll do my best to get them answered.

]]>http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2010/07/26/tv-press-tour-kicks-off-this-week-time-for-networks-to-do-show-and-tell/feed/8Emmy nominations: We’re feeling the love for “Glee”http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2010/07/08/emmy-nominations-were-feeling-the-love-for-glee/
http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2010/07/08/emmy-nominations-were-feeling-the-love-for-glee/#commentsThu, 08 Jul 2010 16:52:34 +0000http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/?p=18978This year’s Emmy Awards just might turn into one great big “Glee”-for-all. The crazy, campy high school musical that had America singing its praises scored 19 Emmy nominations on Thursday, including bids for best comedy series and stars Matthew… Continue Reading →

]]>This year’s Emmy Awards just might turn into one great big “Glee”-for-all.

The crazy, campy high school musical that had America singing its praises scored 19 Emmy nominations on Thursday, including bids for best comedy series and stars Matthew Morrison, Lea Michele, Jane Lynch and Chris Colfer.

Consider it an emphatic testament to the power of Madonna — and melodic mash-ups.

“Glee” led the charge of refreshing Emmy freshmen. Among the new shows making big breakthroughs were “Modern Family,” with nominations for best comedy series and for five members of its cast, and “The Good Wife,” with bid for best drama series and lead actress Julianna Margulies.

But the old guard wasn’t exactly left in the dust. Emmy once again showered lots of love on “Mad Men” and “30 Rock,” which will be back to defend their titles as best drama and comedy, respectively, when the awards are handed out on Aug. xx (xx, NBC). Also, the final season of “Lost” is justifiably well-represented with nominations for best drama, a first-time nod for star Matthew Fox and supporting bids for Terry O’Quinn and Michael Emerson.

The leading nominee was HBO’s sprawling World War II miniseries, “The Pacific,” with 24 nominations.

Overall, the Emmy field, lacks the quirkiness of last year, when shows like “Family Guy” and “Flight of the Conchords” seemingly came out of nowhere to crash the party. Even though “Glee,” “Modern Family” and “The Good Wife” bring plenty of fresh buzz to the proceedings, their emergence as Emmy forces was widely predicted by industry observers.

That doesn’t mean the nominations aren’t raising some eyebrows. Among the intriguing angles: Conan O’Brien’s version of “The Tonight Show” beat out Jay Leno’s in the best variety series category (Apparently Emmy voters are members of Team Coco). Scandal-plagued Charlie Sheen (“Two and a Half Men”) was bumped from the best comedy actor competition after nabbing nominations four straight years. David Letterman’s “Late Show” is also missing after a season in which the host admitted to affairs with female staff members and fought a blackmail attempt in court.

The nominations also delivered an uplifting feel-good story as Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton, stars of the critically adored, but largely ignored, smalltown drama, “Friday Night Lights,” both secured nominations. Their sparkling performances as a middle-class husband and wife have been heralded since the show debuted in 2006, but until now Emmy voters had given them the cold shoulder.

The most interesting Emmy category is best comedy, which has undergone a major overhaul. Joining “Glee” and “Modern Family” as newcomers to the field is Edie Falco’s darkly humorous “Nurse Jackie.”

“Glee” and “Modern Family,” in particular, figure to pose a major challenge to the three-year domination of Tina Fey’s “30 Rock.” Both boldly redefined their genres and rode a wave of positive buzz through the season. Of the two, “Modern Family” was the most consistently funny and affecting. But while “Glee” didn’t always hit the right notes, it was the television phenomenon of the year and thus probably is the show to beat.

For all the changes in the comedy category, Emmy voters could be criticized for failing to take the revamp even further. Standout sitcoms “The Big Bang Theory,” “Community,” “How I Met Your Mother” and “Cougar Town” could all make a strong case for inclusion in the club, but were snubbed. Meanwhile, “The Office” landed yet another a nomination, despite showing signs of creative wear and tear.

]]>http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2010/07/08/emmy-nominations-were-feeling-the-love-for-glee/feed/7Let’s talk about the “Lost” finale; Join our live chat!http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2010/05/21/lets-talk-about-the-lost-finale-join-our-live-chat/
http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2010/05/21/lets-talk-about-the-lost-finale-join-our-live-chat/#commentsFri, 21 May 2010 18:47:05 +0000http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/?p=18686The next best thing to watching “Lost” is talking about it. That’s why we’ll be holding a live online chat at noon on Monday. I’ll be on the chat, along with my colleague Joan Morris, who is a super “Lostie”… Continue Reading →

]]>http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2010/05/21/lets-talk-about-the-lost-finale-join-our-live-chat/feed/5ABC stocks up on dramas for the fall; “FlashForward” axedhttp://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2010/05/18/abc-stocks-up-on-dramas-for-the-fall-flashforward-axed/
http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2010/05/18/abc-stocks-up-on-dramas-for-the-fall-flashforward-axed/#commentsWed, 19 May 2010 02:28:32 +0000http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/?p=18655Here’s the ABC upfront rundown, from the AP: ABC will try to boost its midweek schedule in the fall with cop and legal dramas and, only a few months after “Lost” departs, a supernatural series that also begins with a… Continue Reading →

ABC will try to boost its midweek schedule in the fall with cop and legal dramas and, only a few months after “Lost” departs, a supernatural series that also begins with a plane crash.

The third-place network said Tuesday it will bring in Matthew Perry, Michael Imperioli, Michael Chiklis and Dana Delany for new series. Last year’s ambitious “Flash Forward” was canceled, and “Scrubs” was scrapped following an unsuccessful move from NBC.

Unlike its three chief rivals, ABC lost viewers this season as hits like “Desperate Housewives” and “Grey’s Anatomy” started aging. Yet the network’s biggest risk of last fall — stuffing Wednesday night with four new comedies — was a success. Three of them are back and one, “Modern Family,” is considered one of the freshest new shows on TV.

“We really had three goals going into development — attack 10 o’clock, more comedy and event television,” said Stephen McPherson, ABC Entertainment Group president. “This schedule really speaks to it.”

During ABC’s presentation to advertisers on Tuesday, downcast actor Matthew Fox of “Lost” appeared onstage to say how bittersweet it was the show was ending after six seasons. Other cast members gave filmed testimonials about the show being a life-changing experience.

Late-night star Jimmy Kimmel, in what’s becoming a yearly routine poking fun at all of the broadcast networks’ plans, noted the confusing mythology that scared many viewers away from “Lost.”

Watching the show is like “what I imagine it must be to be trapped inside the brain of Paula Abdul,” he said.

Kimmel also noted NBC’s cancellation of “Law & Order” in favor of the new series “Law & Order: Los Angeles.”

“The last time NBC took a show from New York and moved it to L.A. it wound up as the lead-in to George Lopez on TBS,” Kimmel said. The reference was to his late-night rival, Conan O’Brien.

Imperioli, late of “The Sopranos,” is on the other side of the law playing a “damaged but driven” detective in a homicide unit in the new series “Detroit 1-8-7.” It’s on the schedule for 10 p.m. ET/PT on Tuesdays.

The new “The Whole Truth” will be on the same time slot the next night. The legal drama stars Rob Morrow, late of CBS’ “Numb3rs,” and Joely Richardson of “Nip/Tuck” as former Yale Law School classmates who now compete as a prosecutor and defense attorney.

McPherson classifies the new “My Generation” as event television. The scripted series imagines a documentary crew following a Texas high school class in 2000 then returning to revisit those lives a decade later. “No Ordinary Family,” with Chiklis, is about a family whose plane crashes into the Amazon River and they emerge with superpowers.

Delany leads “Body of Proof,” playing a neurosurgeon who becomes a medical examiner after being injured in a car accident.

ABC picked up three new comedies, although “Better Together” was the only one with a firm slot on the fall schedule. It follows three couples in a family at various stages of their lives and relationships.

McPherson said he expected ABC’s two other new comedies to debut sometime in the fall.

With Courteney Cox already established in “Cougar Town,” back for its second season, her former husband in “Friends,” Perry, stars in the new “Mr. Sunshine” as the manager of a San Diego sports arena. Another NBC alum, Allison Janney of “The West Wing,” is his boss.

The romantic comedy “Happy Endings” is about the impact of a divorce on close-knit group of friends.

A new Friday night reality series, “Secret Millionaire,” used to be on Fox in a different format. It recalls CBS’ new “Undercover Boss” in how it follows some wealthy people as they live and volunteer in some of the country’s most impoverished neighborhoods.

ABC’s Sunday schedule remains intact, as does Monday night, where “Dancing With the Stars” grew in popularity with its spring season and “Castle” was a bright spot.

“Shark Tank,” “Wife Swap” and “Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution” were left off ABC’s schedule, but the network says they aren’t necessarily dead. This season’s new “V” will appear in midseason, ABC said.

]]>http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2010/05/18/abc-stocks-up-on-dramas-for-the-fall-flashforward-axed/feed/27Shocked — and saddened — by “Lost”http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2010/05/05/shocked-and-saddened-by-lost/
http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2010/05/05/shocked-and-saddened-by-lost/#commentsWed, 05 May 2010 20:06:35 +0000http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/?p=18538More than 12 hours have passed since I watched last night’s stunning episode of “Lost” and I still can’t shake it. Just can’t. If you haven’t seen it yet and plan to do so, don’t read any further. As usual,… Continue Reading →

]]>More than 12 hours have passed since I watched last night’s stunning episode of “Lost” and I still can’t shake it. Just can’t. If you haven’t seen it yet and plan to do so, don’t read any further.

As usual, I’ll leave other more inquisitive — and anal — minds to dissect the various pieces of the “Lost” puzzle. Yes, I love that stuff, too, but, for me, “Lost” has always been mostly about the emotional oomph it exudes and last night’s episode had emotional oomph galore.

Three key characters — Sayid, Jin and Sun — are dead (at least in the island world). Gone. Just like that. And I can hear the sobs — and outrage — emanating throughout the “Lost” fandom.

I am always struck by how, over six seasons, you can turn on this show and never really know what you’re going to get. I certainly didn’t expect to see Sayid go all suicidal via a bomb explosion, or Sun and Jin plunge into a watery grave while trapped in a sinking submarine.

At least Sayid’s demise had a tinge of relief to it. It was a heroic last act — sacrificing his life to save others. We saw that he is a good man at his core. Amen.

As for Jin and Sun, that was just heartbreakingly brutal to see them go that way so soon after just being reunited. As “Lost” producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse told EW.com, the sequence proved that this show is capable of anything. (It also proved that un-Locke is now, no questions asked, an evil, evil bastard).

And now, the two most poignant death scenes on “Lost” have been drownings (we’ll never forget Charlie’s sad farewell). And last night, the acting between Yunjin Kim and Daniel Dae Kim was extraordinarily powerful. (I only wish the director had gone a little less “Titanic” with the whole hands slipping away thing).

Making the moment even stronger were the reactions from our survivors on the beach. Never have we seen that kind of emotion displayed by Hurley. And Matthew Fox (Jack), as I’ve said before, continues to be the best male crier on TV.

But what did you think? Were you sobbing on your couch — or are you more irate than sad that little Ji Yeon has been made an orphan? And did it occur to you that “Lost” killed off three of its main minority characters? What’s that all about?

(Note: I previously wrote that they killed off the “last” minority chracters. Several of you have pointed out that mis-statement).

]]>http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2010/05/05/shocked-and-saddened-by-lost/feed/20“Lost”: Desmond’s “Happily Ever After”http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2010/04/07/lost-desmonds-happily-ever-after/
http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2010/04/07/lost-desmonds-happily-ever-after/#commentsWed, 07 Apr 2010 17:33:09 +0000http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/?p=18318Wow! … No, I really mean it: Wow!! I have always found the “Lost” episodes pegged to Desmond to be some of the most engaging the show has produced through the years, and last night’s “Happily Ever After” proved to… Continue Reading →

I have always found the “Lost” episodes pegged to Desmond to be some of the most engaging the show has produced through the years, and last night’s “Happily Ever After” proved to be no exception. Best hour of the season. By far.

From the opening scenes in which Widmore horrifies Desmond by informing him, “I’ve brought you back to the island” (for a wicked experiment, no less), through the tense flash-sideways sequences involving Charlie, Eloise and Daniel, and all the way up to Desmond meeting Penny (Be still, my heart) on the stadium steps, this episode had me in its grips — my heart pounding and my jaw dropping the entire way.

Epic.

What I think fueled the excitement — besides all the fun callbacks, juicy twists, surprising reveals and a remarkable performance by Henry Ian Cusick — was the sense of forward progress. More than ever, we were given glimpses into how the sideways world and the island storyline play off one another. It felt like we were going somewhere (a feeling that hasn’t always existed this season). That we were making strides toward an end game that could be enthralling and mind-blowing. In other words, it renewed our faith in the writers that they would make these six seasons of mystery and confusion pay off big time.

Ah, but to paraphrase Widmore, “The island isn’t done with us yet.”

What did you think about last night’s episode? Do you think Desmond and Penny — and for that matter, the other castaways — will eventually find their happily ever after?

]]>http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2010/04/07/lost-desmonds-happily-ever-after/feed/13“Lost” recap: Will the real Sayid please stand up?http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2010/02/10/lost-recap-will-the-real-sayid-please-stand-up/
http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2010/02/10/lost-recap-will-the-real-sayid-please-stand-up/#commentsWed, 10 Feb 2010 18:04:19 +0000http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/?p=17755Last night’s “Lost” episode was Kate-centric, with its “flash-sideways” pegged to her run from the law (in L.A.) and from the temple people (on the island). But it was the travails of poor Sayid that really caught our attention and… Continue Reading →

]]>Last night’s “Lost” episode was Kate-centric, with its “flash-sideways” pegged to her run from the law (in L.A.) and from the temple people (on the island). But it was the travails of poor Sayid that really caught our attention and pushed the saga in an intriguing direction.

Having just been revived in the temple’s mysterious Jacuzzi, Sayid is tortured by Dogen, the grand poo-bah (Oh, karama is indeed a bitch). Dogen places some cartoonish electrode gizmo on Sayid’s head and thrusts a red-hot poker into his torso as Jack continues to stew outside. But eventually, Dogen explains to Jack that they’re not torturing Sayid, but testing him. (Maybe it’s just a 50,000-mile tune-up).

“We believe he has been claimed,” temple guy says. “A darkness is growing in him.”

And then, the final zinger … “It happened to your sister.” The comment is followed by a quick cut to a raggedy, wild-eyed Claire in the jungle, acting all Rousseau-like and shooting people. It is the first we’ve seen of Claire on the island for over a season.

Dogen’s line about being “claimed” suggests that Sayid’s body has been taken over by someone — or something — else (Jacob? The Man in Black?) and this sort of thing has been happening for ages. Claire seems to be possessd by something or someone and we know dead Locke has been taken over by the Man in Black/Smoke Monster (At least we think we know).

And now a few past incidents may be coming into a deeper focus. Apparently, the temple waters were used to save young Ben after Sayid shot him (Recall at the time, Richard warned the castaways that, while Ben’s life could be saved, he would never be the same).

And we can now reasonably deduct that all those dead characters we’ve seen come to life in the past (like Jack’s deceased father) were actually Ol’ Smokey appearing in the form of the dead characters and trying to influence the castaways’ actions.

But there are still many questions (as always) left to be hashed out. Will the “new” Sayid be good or evil? Dogen’s line about “darkness” suggests evil — but are we to automatically believe that Dogen is a good guy? What exactly are his intentions? And does grown-up Ben have that same darkness in his heart? (Leaving us to assume that Widmore might be the good guy?). In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, “Lost” showrunner Damon Lindelof warned, “Your sense of who’s good and who’s bad might change a bit over the course of the season.”

More mind games? Sounds good to me.

Some quick observations:

— It was interesting to see the vulnerable side of Sawyer. He actually teared up, telling Kate that he was going to ask the dearly departed Juliet to marry him. (Stellar work by Josh Holloway).
— Sad Sawyer line: “Some of us are meant to be alone.” (I can still feel a lump in my throat).
— Funniest line of the night: “You’re not a zombie, right?” (Hurley to the resurrected Sayid).
— Second funniest line: “Ill be in the food court if you need me.” (Miles to the gang in the temple). And doesn’t the temple look like somehting straight out of a theme park — Disneyland’s Indiana Jones ride?
— Ethan’s back! The creepy guy who kidnapped Claire on the island — and took an interest in her baby — returned in the flash-sideways as the man conducting Claire’s ultra-sound. His name? Dr. Goodspeed. (On the island, Charlie killed Ethan).
— Poor Arzt nearly gets run over in L.A. and he blurts out the line from “Midnight Cowboy” — “Hey, I’m walkin’ HERE!”
— Will Claire now raise Aaron in the L.A. timeline? How badly did you want her to slap that mother for not bothering to call Claire after deciding she could not take the baby? (Where is wild island Caire when you need her?)
— Jack, the “man of science,” still can’t bring himself to be a man of faith — refusing to give that weird horse pill to Sayid. And it looks like that was a “good” thing because Dogen claimed the pill was poison.
— Just a quick personal observation: I’ve spent so much time on Oahu, growing up, that when I see the flash-sideways scenes at the airport and in the city streets, I keep thinking we’re in Honolulu and I have to remind myself that, no, we’re in L.A. It’s just a nit-picky thing, but I wonder how hard it would have been for the “Lost” crew to have shot at least a few exteriors at LAX and surrounding environs.

With it’s season 6 premiere, it’s the beginning of the end for Lost . Once this is over, I’m not sure what’s going to replace the infuriating mysteries or the rampant speculation of what really happened on the island. Where… Continue Reading →

With it’s season 6 premiere, it’s the beginning of the end for Lost . Once this is over, I’m not sure what’s going to replace the infuriating mysteries or the rampant speculation of what really happened on the island. Where am I going to find my serial fix? The closest thing out there to Lost isn’t necessarily on TV; it’s in video games, more specifically the Mass Effect series. Harping more on the points made in my review last week, here are three reasons why Mass Effect is like Lost.

1. The continuity. Both game and TV series are sticklers for long involved stories that click across a broader timeline. In Mass Effect, that’s done through multiple games where actions have consequences that reverberate throughout the series. In Lost, that continuity goes through multiple seasons, eras and now realities. I suppose Mass Effectdoes have its own alternate realities, but that’s dependent on how fans play their Cmdr. Shepard. One Mass Effect universe may have Rachni still living while another may have them extinct. To get multiple realities in Lost, all you have to do is blow a hydrogen bomb with a rock. The interesting thing is that the alternate realities in Lost replace the flashbacks/flashforwards in the previous seasons.

2. Characters.Both game and show have a huge cast of characters. Some of them have been in the series since the original. But it’s interesting how both franchises go about exploring each character’s background. In Lost’s case, the writers used flashbacks to give insight into the survivors’ motivations. Later on, they use flashforwards to do the same thing. This season, they’re apparently using alternate realities to show the what-ifs and the consequences of fixing the past.

In Mass Effect 2, players don’t have flashbacks per se, instead they have sidequests that delve into the murky histories of each teammate. Jack goes back to the lab where she was held only to find things different from what she remembered. Miranda talks about her escape and cloned sister. It’s a smart, intimate and unobtrusive way of filling in the background of each squad member. I actually enjoyed these stories more than the main overarching plot.

3. Twists and cliffhangers The one complaint I have about the Mass Effect series is that they don’t do cliffhangers very well. Each game has an ending that wraps things up in a nice tidy package, but they don’t leave players wondering about what happens next. That’s something that Lost is infuriatingly good at. The closest thing to a Mass Effect cliffhanger was a teaser that showed Cmdr. Shepard dead. This was a great lead-in to Mass Effect 2, but it would have been mind-blowing if they showed that at the end of the original. Can you imagine all the bulletin board speculation and Internet ink that would have been spilled guessing at whether was Shepard was really dead or not?

Again, it goes without saying. Lost is the king of cliffhangers and no other series leaves you cussing at the TV more than this show. Half the time, fans don’t even know what’s going on, but they sure do like talking about it and delving into the mythology.

And I guess this brings up my last point. Mass Effect shouldn’t be turned into a movie. That’s the worst idea ever. It’d be shortchanging the universe and the narrative that BioWare set up. Instead of movie, they should turn it into a TV show. there’d be enough material to keep gamers and watchers happy. The plot would have to be altered a bit to keep some mystery, but the foundation is there for a great serial.

NOTE: If you haven’t watched the season opener of “Lost,” but definitely plan to, proceed no further … “It worked.” Those were the final words spoken to Sawyer by Juliet last night before she died in his arms. She was… Continue Reading →

NOTE: If you haven’t watched the season opener of “Lost,” but definitely plan to, proceed no further …

“It worked.”

Those were the final words spoken to Sawyer by Juliet last night before she died in his arms. She was referring, of course, to Jack’s bold plan for a time-line reset by setting off an H-bomb.

But, more importantly, did it work for you?

I hate to admit it: I did not love last night’s opener — even though I desperately wanted to. I was absolutely stoked hours before its debut, but after watching Team Darlton’s grand plan unfurl, I felt … well … a bit ambivalent and even disappointed.

Like a lot of critics and fans have been doing this morning, I will give credit to the producers for introducing a daring new storytelling structure that apparently will track the characters through parallell, alternate worlds.

And I truly did enjoy the plot string that had the plane landing at LAX and showing us what would have happened had the plane not crashed. Fittingly, things aren’t going so well for our Losties: Jack is frazzled because Oceanic has misplaced his father’s casket; Kate is on the lam again; Jin has been stopped by Customs officials who want to know why he has a big stash of undeclared cash in his bag; Locke is sad and pathetic; Charlie is bummed because Jack yanked a bag of heroin from his throat on the plane and prevented him from dying.

As many of us already suspected, it is becoming obvious that they all NEEDED to go to the island to gain something of worth that was missing from their lives.

Speaking of Charlie, wasn’t it cool to be runited with dearly departed characters such as Boone and Artz? A fun “Lost” class reunion, indeed.

What I didn’t so much enjoy was the introduction of the temple people — or the other Others, as I call them. Not only was my patience tested (I don’t want to deal with yet ANOTHER influx of new characters this late in the game), I felt that the scenes in the temple came off as rather lame and hokey. And those CGI scenes with Smokey the Monster? Oh so cheesy.

At least we did discover who Smokey is — the Man in Black. But like so many things about “Lost,” that only leads to more questions: Like, who exactly, is this Man in Black? Why does he hate Jacob so much? What is his motivation?

And, of course, we have many questions about the underwater island, (Did you see the Dharma logo on the shark?), the absence of Shannon, the resurrection of Sayid, the wound on Jack’s neck and, mostly, the alternate time lines.

Will they continue along these same paths for the entire season? Will they ever converage? A co-worker and resident “Lost”-aholic, Joan Morris, offered this theory: The characters on the island are actually dead, but they just don’t know it.

Does her theory hold any weight? Do you have a better one? All I know is that this journey continues to get more bizzare by the episode.